Pastor’s Corner — October 27th, 2024
Preaching Series #2 and #3
Just a few notes on the homily series we’re preaching:
● The main purpose of the series (that we preach every four years) is to help form the consciences of parishioners on the foundations of the common good so the lay faithful can understand their role in promoting and protecting the common good as they vote.
● The second purpose is to remind everyone of how we see the world as Christians in light of all that is happening in our world today. I know for some that this series might seem really unnecessary for voting, either because they have already voted or because they are not learning anything in this series they didn’t already know. If this is you, maybe think about the series this way: an important reminder on what we believe is most important as Christians when it comes to approaching the common good from a political perspective. No matter how faithful we are to Christ, we are all vulnerable to temptations of having politicians, pundits, or our increasingly secular culture form our frame of reference as to how we see problems on the common good rather than allowing our worldview to be formed by the Church and Scripture.
● Let me reiterate how important this is: everyone has to vote their conscience. For some people this will be easy, for others it will be more difficult. We just need to make sure we’re voting for the common good, that is, we are choosing candidates (among those available) that we sincerely and prayerfully believe will best promote or protect the common good as we see it as Christians.
● Deacon Josh’s homily last week was one of the best I’ve heard on the topic of abortion, voting and the right to life. If you missed it, please watch it. While he didn’t name his source in his homily, he quoted directly the teaching of the Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion: General Principles (2004) from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, written by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who became Pope Benedict XVI. The Church takes very seriously the moral evil of intentionally voting for candidates precisely because of their permissive stance on, or worse, their advocacy of abortion. This is why those who voted yes for Proposal 3 a couple of years ago may have separated themselves from the Church, if they did so with full knowledge and full intention. This is how seriously Jesus and his Church defend unborn children.
● This week we’ll hear about the foundational importance of marriage and family for the common good.
S3 Campaign Update
Thanks again for all of you who have returned your pledge cards to the office for the campaign. Our volunteers are still in the process of calling many of you to answer any questions you may have about the campaign. If you did not receive a pledge card in your packet, it’s likely that a parish volunteer will call you. Thanks for responding to these calls. Big thanks to everyone who has participated and to those who are praying about how you may make a difference. I should have an update this week on how we are doing towards our goal.
Eucharistic Adoration for Our Country
As the election draws near, we will be offering extended adoration hours from October 28th through November 5th from 9am to 9pm daily. Please join us in this season of prayer by coming to pray before Jesus in the chapel for our country, this election, and our families. Sign up for one or more hours–we need at least 2 adorers per hour. Thanks!
Parents (and Grandparents): How To Do Everything You Can To Get Your Kids To Heaven
In this great article, “Catholic Parenting - How To Do Everything You Can To Get Your Kid To Heaven!”, one of my favorite authors on evangelization (Marcel LeJuene of Catholic Missionary Disciples) has provided some great parenting tips on how to raise children in such a way as to get them to heaven. His four points for Catholic parenting with intent are:
1) God Has No Grandchildren
2) You Can’t (and shouldn't) Force Faith But You Can Create An Environment Where Faith Can Grow
3) Allow Room For Kids To Wrestle With Truth And Struggle To Believe
4) Final Thoughts
Obviously, you’ll have to read this to get what he means and how to do it. His stuff is so good. If you have children or grandchildren, I encourage you to read it.
Your servant in the Lord,
Fr Mathias